Combination or key operable lock



Dec. 6, 1955 M, CHE K 2,725,739

COMBINATION OR KEY OPERABLE LOCK Filed July 21, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet l T111. T i' ATTORN EY Dec. 6, 1955 Filed July 21, 1952 M. M. CHECK COMBINATION OR KEY OPERABLE LOCK 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 27 C49:

ATTORN EY Dec. 6, 1955 M. M. CHECK 2,725,739

COMBINATION 0R KEY OPERABLE LOCK Filed July 21, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 fire 5g :5 i

:2 i a 6 u l 53 INVENTOR BY 62 6 2:9 22 ATTORNEY Dec. 6, 1955 M. M. CHECK COMBINATION OR KEY OPERABLE LOCK 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 21. 1952 INVENTOR M. /4 (ac Afigmm ATTORNEY Dec. 6, 1955 M. M. CHECK 2,725,739

COMBINATION 0R KEY OPERABLE LOCK Filed July 21, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 lNVENTOR .M. Maui ATTORNEY United States Patent COMBINATION on KEY OPERABLE LOCK Mathias M. Check, Darien, Conn., assignor to The Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company, Stamford, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Application July 21, 1952, Serial No. 300,114

20 Claims. (Cl. 70-285) This invention relates to locker locks. In this class of locks, the bolt of the look, when unlocked, moves with the latchbolt of the locker to releasing position. Similarly, the lock bolt returns to locking position with the latchbolt of the locker for holding thelatchbolt in locked position. It is customary to utilize combination tumblers for controlling the lock bolt, and in addition, to provide key operated means for releasing the bolt Without recourse to the tumblers, so that an authorized supervisor of a group of lockers may very readily obtain access by means of a key.

A lock of the particular class is shown in the patent to Brauning, No. 2,112,982 issued April 5, 1938, in which the lock bolt slides vertically and is locked by a horizontally sliding deadbolt. The deadbolt is pressed to locking position through the action of a fence that bears against the combination tumblers, and when this fence enters the tumbler gatings, the deadbolt moves with the fence to releasing position. The lock bolt itself may then slide to a releasing position and, as it undergoes this movement, it simultaneously withdraws the fence from the gatings and disperses the tumblers. The lock bolt may also be released alternatively through the action of a key that rotates the shaft upon which the tumblers are mounted, this shaft having upon it a cam that retracts the deadbolt. As a particular means for changing the combination, Brauning utilizes a dial ring that can rotate relatively to the dial body. The dial ring is normally held against change of adjustment by a releasable stud, and access can be had for releasing this stud only through partial disassembly of the lock. By my invention, I have now introduced certain extremely novel features into a lock of the class described, all of which will be clear from the description that follows, and will be best appreciated when compared to the prior art as represented by the Brauning patent.

As one very important feature of my invention, I have provided means for locking the fence away from the tumbler gatings once it is moved out of these gatings. The fence is so locked preferably until the dial has been ro tated to move at least one of the tumblers out of its release position, although I prefer to require the rotation of all the tumblers. I utilize in this arrangement a hold-out means that may take the form of a lever that is operated by the bolt of my lock when moving to release position, to withdraw the fence from the gatings. This hold-out means continues to hold the fence out of the gatings when the lock bolt returns to locking position, and does not permit any further operation of the fence until the hold-out means is forcibly moved from the position in which it was placed by the bolt. To move the hold-out means away from hold-out position, one of the tumblers must be rotated, and during this rotation this tumbler places its gating out of alignment with thefence. The particular tumbler that is chosen for this purpose is preferably the one that moves last as the dial is rotated to move the gatings out of alignment, and in such an arrangement every one of the gatings mustmove away from the fence before resetting of the tumblers can be made effective to release the lock.

Ratented Dec. 6, 1955 As another feature of the invention, I deadlock the bolt of my lock through a locking detent that is preferably in the form of a lever and that, excepting at one particular stage of the normal operating cycle, moves integrally with the fence. The arrangement is such that the locking detent moves with the fence as the latter enters the aligned gatings, and in so moving releases the bolt. Also, the fence in moving out of the gatings presses the locking detent toward at position locking the bolt. However, because this latter movement originates in the movement of the'lock bolt to releasing position, the bolt does not then permit full locking movement of the locking detent. Actually, this locking movement of the detent is spring impelled so that the detent snaps into locking engagement upon return of the bolt to locking position, and this same spring pressure furthermore allows the detent to move to unlocking position independently of the fence for a purpose to be later described. The hold-out lever during the time that the detent is pressed toward locking position continuously holds the fence away from the gatings.

As a further part of this feature of the invention, I so construct the locking detent that its deadlocking action is effective against movement of the bolt in either direction whether the lock be installed right-handed or left-handed. This I accomplish by forming upon the end of the locking detent cam surfaces that are so arranged relatively to the pivot point of the detent that any attempt to force the bolt will merely force the locking detent into more secure engagement with the bolt.

Another feature of my invention resides in the means whereby the locking detent may be moved to release the bolt through the action of a key independently of the combination tumblers. This is first possible because the'locking detent may be moved to unlocked position independently of the fence, as above set forth. I utilize for this purpose a member that rotates with the dial and that, when projected from the dial in a particular rotated position of the dial, engages the locking detent to move it independently of the fence so as to release the bolt. The movement of this member is effected through a key plug in the body of the dial, and preferably the member is mounted upon what I term the driver tumbler, and coacts directly with the key plug. As a further part of this feature of my invention, I provide a cam that causes a radial movement of the member to occur at the proper rotated position to release the locking detent.

As another important feature of the invention, I so construct the lock that the combination may very readily be changed through the action of the very same key that releases the lock. This I accomplish by a construction that allows rotative adjustment of the dial ring relatively to the body of the. dial when the key plug is rotated by the usual key. Preferably, the dial ring does not actually rotate freely when released in this way, but is subjected to a certain resistance that prevents an unintentional change in its adjustment when the key rotates the key plug merely for the purpose of unlocking the bolt. In the preferred form of my invention, I employ a dog that is capable of yielding to permit the dial ring to be rotated relatively to the dial body. When the key plug is in its normal locked position, however, it prevents yielding of the dog, and the dial ring is then positively locked by this dog against any change in adjustment.

I have thus outlined rather broadly the more important features of my inventionin order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that my contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of my invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject of the claims appended hereto. Those skilled in the art will'appreciate that the conception on which my disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures for carrying out the several purposes of my invention.

R feh h h w to th shewh s Figfl .is' a perspective'yiew'jshowing my novel locker lockin apreferred form; Figs. 2, 3,.i i f d Sare views'of the'in'terior of this look showing the" pfarts'at yarious stages of the normal operating cycle; Fig. 6 is a vertical sectionon the line 66 of Fig. 4; Fig. .7 is a vertical section on the line 77 of .Fig. 1; Fig. is an exploded view showingithe locking detent and certain of its coasting parts; Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing parts t ro h wh h th key re as s h lo k n de n gs- 10 and l a e P a v v e s h s ow the eo e e of the driver tumbler and the actuator with the cover plate of the lock; Figs. 12 and 13 are views showing the coacting parts at the inner side of the dial and the key plug; Fig. 14 shows the construction of the inner end of the key plug, and Fig. 15 shows the .dog that controls adjustment of the .dial ring on" the dial body.

'For the purpose of disclosure, I have chosen to show my novel lock'in a form that utilizes a casing 10 and a bolt 11 that are quite similar to those shown in the patent to Brauning, referred to above. Thus, the bolt 11 slides vertically at the outer edge of the casing 10, and the fiat base portion 12 of the bolt is guided for this movement between parts of the casing 10 and a cover plate 13 that is best seen in Fig. l. A balancing spring 14, shown in Fig. 2, normally presses the bolt 11 toward a central locking position, but permits unlocking movement of this bolt both upwardly and downwardly from this position, as in.Brauning. For controlling this movement, a series of gated tumblers 15 rotate on a stationary shaft 16 in the casing 10. Initially, it is necessary to know only that the tumblers 15 rotate sequentially, and that this rot"- tion is entirely conventional in itself, although I do provide the dial and in what I term the driver tumbler certain coacting features that are novel in the combination and that will be described in due course.

I have contributed by my invention an extremely novel arrangement through which the tumblers 15 control the bolt 11. To facilitate an understanding of this novel arrangement, I shall describe first the detent that actually locks the bolt 11 in the preferred form of my invention, hi de en be di a d generally b t numera 17 and shown in detail in Fig. 8. The locking detent 17 in the tumbler gatings 27. .In moving the fence .24, the spring 25 moves also the locking detent 17 to release position, and this is accomplished through a pair of lugs 28 on the fence 24 that engage rearwardly extending arms 29 on the detent 17, as seen in Fig. 4. Also on the shaft 23 is a second coil spring 31) haying legs that act between the body portion 26 of the fence and one of the arms 29 of the detent 17 to press the fence 24 clockwise relatively to the detent, as viewed in Fig. 4. The effect of the spring 30 is to' press the arms 29 toward the lugs 28 so that the detent 17 will tend to move integrally with the fence 24 when the latter moves out of the gatings 27, as well as when it moves into these gatings; It is'ir'nportant to note, for reasons that will appear, that the spring 30 by yielding does permit outward pivoting of the fence 24 from the gatings of the tumblers relatively to the detent 17 as in Fig. 5, and conversely, permits inward pivoting of the detent away from the bolt and relatively to the fence, as in'Fig. 9

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that when the series of tumblers 15 shown byrne are rotated by the dial to align the gatings 27 of the tumblers in a conventional way, the fence'24 will be'projected by its spring 25 immediately into the tumbler gatin'gs. Because of the relationship of the fence 24 and the detent 17 the fence will carry'the detent with itfromthe locking position of Fig. 3 to an unlocking position such as illustrated in Fig. 4. In the conventional lock, the movement thereafter of the fence outwardly of the gatings is accompanied by dispersal of the combination tumblers, as in the Brauning patent. In the invention described by me in this application, I depart completely from this prior art by providing means to prevent the unlocking of'the lock, once' it has been locked, until the combination tumblers 15 are moved manually to place theirgatings 27 out of alignment. In other words, the cycle is as follows. The tumblers 15 are all rotated to align the gatings 27 and the'fence 24 then enters the gatings. I then provide for the movement of effect is a hook -shaped lever having, at its free end,'upper i and lower bolt engaging surfaces 18, 19; that coact with surfaces 20, 21 on the base portion 12 of the boltll to hold the bolt in locked position, as may be seen in Fig. 2. Preferably, the locking detent 17 is double inform so as to coact with the'base portion 12 of the bolt at points symmetrically arranged on opposed sides of the bolt, and the double parts of the locking detent 17 are integrally joined at their rear ends by a' connecting portion '22 so as to operate as a nnit. In the lower part of the lock casing 10 is a shaft 23 upon which the locking detent 17 is mounted to swing into and out of engagement with the bolt 11. This shaft 23 is only a short distance inwardly from the base'portion 12 of the bolt so that the locking detent 17 extends predominantly in 'a vertical direction, and the surfaces 18, 19, 20, 21 through which the detent engages the bolt are so inclined as to coact with the shaft 23 to force the detent more closely into locking engagement with the bolt should an attempt he made to force the bolt. In other words, the detenf'17 act's to deadlock the bolt 11 against movement b oth" upwardly and downwardly from locking position.

To coact with the tumblers 15, I mount a fence 2 4 to pivot on the shaft 23 between the oppos'ed sides of the locking detent 17. A coil spring 25 on the shaft 23 has legs engaged between'the bottom of thecasing 10 and the body portion 26 of the fence 24 so as to press the fence inwardly toward t ers 15 ht1 hh1eteehsl tieh t9 be described. this spring further movesthe fenc e 24 into the fence outwardly of the gatings upon the unlocking of the locker. At this point, Ihave-a novel means for there after preventing the fence from moving into the gatings once again until at least onfand'preferably all, of the tumblers are rotated manually from their release position. This is accomplished in the preferred form of my invention by a hold-out member now to be described.

This hold-out member is in the form of'a lever 31 mounted on a pivot 32 in the upper portion of the casing 10. On the lower portion of the hold-out lever 31 is a part 33 that is engaged behind the body portion 26 of the fence 24, and on the rear end of the lever 31 is a nose 34 that is pressed by a spring 35 mounted in the casing 10. The spring 35is so formed relatively to the nose 34 as to produce a balancing action that holds the lever 31 in either one of two positions; thatis, in a holdout position in which the part 33 maintains the fence 24 a a -item the e ns 2 h i Fi s: a d 5, hd n a a e pe n in whi h t Pa t .3 ws the hee to ve into the eti s e in Pie 4- T e b ehe hs pr n 35 has a firm action that prevents movement of the holdem ve 3 by th Pr ssu e o he ce 4 a a st an u es tha a Po t ve er' be ppli d to the e e in order to move it. i

In the preferred form of my invention that is shown in the drawings, the ho'ldfout lever also serves as the means that rst me ee he f nce ehl hi t h e eee i h h s .I t the lie 3. w th fti n' end w 3 hre'h' wh h it i es te h il f a "P i O in lihe' h's r eeee' 12 of the bolt 1. Assum f rst that'the' fence 24 has entered the aligned gating's' 2 7 as in'Fig'. 4, so as to" carry wi th lee a e nt 11 9 re e se pet tio th belt 11 is permitted tom ove upwardly as in Fig. 5, this move m nt m lta eous y moving t hQltl h le er 31, t holding positionthroug h the coaction of l the I lower surface 37 with the hold-out lever. The part 33 of the hold-out lever 31 has now moved the fence 24 out of the gatings 27. At this particular stage of the operation, the fence .24 cannot carry the locking detent 17 with it to locking position because the bolt 11 is still in release position, and the fence 24 merely presses the detent 17 through the spring 30 so that upon return of the bolt 11 to locking position the detent will snap into locking engagement with the bolt, as may be seen in Fig. 2. The hold-out lever 31 continues, of course, to hold the fence 24 out of the gatings 27. It will be understood that the lever normally coacts with only one of the cam surfaces 37, and these surfaces are duplicated in opposed relation to provide operation of the lever 31 in both right-hand and left-hand installations of the lock, since in the one case the bolt will move upwardly from its central locking position and in the other case it will move downwardly from this position.

To release the fence 24 so that it may again coact with the tumbler gatings 27, I utilize means that is dependent for its operation upon the rotation of at least one of the tumblers 15 to place its gating 27 out of alignment with the fence 24. In the preferred form of my invention, I mount a release pin 38 on the side of one of the tumblers, and this pin is so located relatively to the gating of this tumbler that, when the gating moves away from the fence 24, the pin 38 strikes a cam surface 39 on the hold-out lever 31. Continued movement of the pin 38 forces the lever against the pressure of the balancing spring 35 until this spring accepts the lever in its release position, as shown in Fig. 3. In this position of the lever, the cam surface 39 clears the release pin 38 so as to offer no obstruction to free rotation of the tumblers. As shown in Fig. 7, I prefer to utilize for mounting the release pin 38 the tumbler 15 that rotates last when the combination dial of the lock is rotated for the purpose of moving the gatings 27 out of alignment, and thereby I require complete dispersal of all of the tumbler gatings 27 as a prerequisite to the release of the fence 24 for operation.

It may be well to review at this point what I term the tumbler operation of my novel lock. It may be assumed that the parts are first in the position shown in Fig. 2,

since this figure shows the lock in its normally locked condition. In this figure, the gatings 27 have remained aligned with the fence from a previous operation of the lock, but the lock can not be released because the holdout lever 31 holds the fence out of the gatings so as to press the locking detent 17 to locked position. To permit the fence 24 to coact with the gatings 27, the hold out lever 31 must now move to release position, as illus trated in Fig. 3, and this is accomplished by the release pin 38 through rotation of the tumblers 15. The spring 25 is now pressing the fence 24 against the tumblers 15, but the gatings 27 are out of alignment with the fence 24 so that the fence still does not release the locking detent 17. If now the tumblers are properly set, the spring 25 is allowed to move the fence into the gatings 27, as in Fig. 4, thereby acting through the lugs 28-to move the locking detent 17 to release position. The bolt 11 may now move to release position and in so doing acts simultaneously through its cam surface 37 to move the holdout lever 31 to holding position, as shown in Fig. 5. This of course moves the fence 24 out of the gatings 27 and causes the fence to remain out of the gatings. Because the locking detent 17 can not immediately return to its locking position, the coil spring 30 yields but nevertheless presses the detent 17 against the base portion 12 of the bolt 11, so that upon return of the bolt to locking position the detent will snap into locking engagement with the bolt and the parts will again be in their original position shown in Fig. 2.

I shall now describe the part of my invention whereby I obtain key release of the lock. In the dial of my lock, which I indicate generally by the numeral 40 in Figs. 1 and 7, I utilize a key plug 41, this in itself being a con- 'ventional arrangement that is shown in Brauning. This are?? key plug may be of any suitable type, and it is merely necessary to know that it is normally locked relatively to the dial and rotates relatively to the dial through the action of the proper key. However, I do provide exceedingly novel means through which the key plug 41 controls the bolt 11. On the inner end of the key plug 41 is an eccentric pin 42 that may be seen in Figs. 7, and 9 to 14. This eccentric pin is disposed in a transverse slot 43 in an actuator 44 that is mounted to rotate on the axis of the dial 40, and also to move relatively to this axis. As a particular mounting for the actuator 44, I prefer to utilize one of the tumblers 15 that rotates on the end of the shaft 16, and that I term the driver tumbler 15D. I form this tumbler with a groove 45 that holds the actuator 44 for rotation with the driver tumbler while also permit ting the actuator to slide in a radial direction. The driver tumbler 15D does, of course, coact in a conventional way with the other tumblers 15, and is similarly provided with a gating 27. Also, the dial 40 rotatesthe driver tumbler 15D through lugs 46, 47 engaged in recesses 48, 49 in this tumbler, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, and it will be seen therefore that the actuator 44 rotates integrally with the dial 40.

Obviously, then, because of the position of the eccentric pin 42 in the slot 43, the key plug 41 by its rotation relatively to the dial 40 controls the radial movement of the actuator 44. Actually, the parts are so arranged that, when the key plug 41 is locked relatively to the dial 40, the actuator 44 is retracted relative to the driver tumbler 15D, as shown in Fig. 11, and when the key plug rotates in the dial, it moves the actuator so as to project one end portion 50 of the actuator radially of this tumbler, as shown in Fig. 10. This end portion 50 of the actuator is located in the plane of one of the arms 29 of the locking detent 17, so that it is adapted when projected to press the arm downwardly and thereby to move the locking detent 17 on its pivot to release the bolt 11. This releasing movement of the detent 17 by the actuator occurs independently of the fence 24 because of the yielding action of the spring 30, and neither the fence nor the hold-out lever 31 will move at this time.

As a means for controlling the movement of the actuator 44 so as to produce a more definite and precise action on the locking detent 17, I prefer to arrange a certain coaction between the actuator 44 and the cover plate 13. Thus, I form parts of the actuator 44 with opposed surfaces 51, 52 that lie within a circular opening 53 in the cover plate 13, and these surfaces by engaging the edge of the opening 53, as in Fig. 11, prevent radial movement of the actuator. However, a slot 54 in the edge of the opening 53 permits the actuator 44 to move radially when rotated to a position in which the end portion 50 can press the arm 29 of the detent 17, as in Figs. 9 and 10. In releasing the locking detent 17 by means of the key, no particular manipulation of the dial 40 is necessary because the actuator 44 by its engagement with the edge of the opening 53 compels the dial and the key plug to rotate together until the actuator is in position to enter the slot 54. The rotating force applied to the key plug 41 then causes the eccentric pin 42 to move the actuator 44 into the slot 54, and the forwardedge of this slot by obstructing further rotation of the actuator, compels full releasing movement of the actuator and enables the full force of the eccentric pin 42 to be applied for moving the locking detent.

My invention allows changing of the combination of the tumblers through a simple movement of the same key that releases the locking detent, and for this purpose I utilize in the dial 40 a dial ring 55 that is capable of rotative adjustment relatively to the body of the dial. This dial ring is controlled through a very novel arrangement that includes a segment 56 formed integrally on the inner end of the key plug 41. When the key plug 41 is locked relatively to the body of the dial, the circular ,edse s dism o th se ment :is ,in a p s t n bea ing against sent ment 57 Ton a'dog 58 that slides {radially oh the dial body. The dog 58 has a tapered outer etnd 59 ,tliat is' adaptedto engage selectively in correspondingly tapered recesses 6!) in the .inner periphery of medial ring. 55; When the circular part of the segment 56 engages the abutment 57, the .dog 58 is blocked against inward movement so that ,the tapered end 59 can not move out of the recess 60 in which it is engaged, and accordingly the dial ring 55 is locked against any change of adjustment relatively to the body of the .dial. However, when the key plug 41 is rotated by the key, the flat part of the segment56 is brought adjacent the abutment 57 so that the dog 58 may slide inwardly to permit the ,dial to rotate. it is important to note that the ,rotation "of. the key plug 41 that releases the locking detent 17 in this form of the invention is exactly the same movementthat releases also the dog 58. Preferably, the body c of the dial has'fa ,smallstop projection 61, that may be seen 'for example in Fig. 12, that is adapted to engage the'segment 56 to limit the key plug 41 precisely to its locking and unlocking positions, thereby facilitating the ,controlof the lockingdetent 17 and the dog 58 by the 'key.. Y 1 7 Because the ring 55 is released for rotation each time that the key is used to release the locking detent 17, it is quite possible that an unintentional change in the combination ,of the lock might occur if it were not for the novel feature that I have conceived to prevent this. It will be understood from the foregoing description that the dial ring 55 can not rotate relatively to the dial body without also causing inward movement of the dog 58. I install behind the dog 58 a spring 62, shown in Figs. 12 and 13, and this spring presses the dog 58 outwardly with a considerable force. This causes the tapered end 59 to be held in firm engagement with its particular recess 60 to resist rotation of the dial ring when the dog is unlocked, but nevertheless the spring does not prevent the dog from riding into another recess ,6!) when the dial ring is forcibly rotated.

I believe that the construction and operation of my novel locker lock will now be understood, and that its advantages'will'be clearly apparent to those acquainted with the" art.

I'now claim:

1,' In a lock of the class described, a locking detent, a fence, yielding means through which said fence presses said lo cldng detent to lockingposition, a series of tumblers, a dial for setting said tumblers, means whereby said locking detent moves w ith said fence to release posi- .tion when said tumblers are set by said dial, an actuator, means mounting said actuator to rotate with said dial, a'key plug for moving said actuator relatively to said dial, and means through which said actuator when moved relatively to said dial moves said locking detent to release position against the pressure of said yielding means whereby said'key plug releases said locking detent independently of said fence.

2 In a'lock of the class described, a locking detent, a series of tumblers, a dial for setting said tumblers,

' means for moving said locking detent to a release position upon setting of the tumblers by said dial, an actuator, means mounting said'actuator to rotate with said .dial, means for moving said actuator relatively to said dial, and means whereby said actuator when moved relativelyt o said dial moves said locking detent to release position.

i In a 1 d; 05 e, l ss escr bed. a locking de ent, a series of rotatable tumblers, a dial for setting said tumblfirs, means for moving said locking detent to a release position upon setting of the tumblers by said dial, an wa er, ea s mo n i g s d. actuator. to rotate w t sa a i a y plu ans whe eby said ke P g m v s rel ably sai 41 nd means. whsrely 5.

ai'tabirso .rql ysl to said dia g oves said l ck en to lease plc tsition.

,In a lock of the class described, alocking detent, a series of tumblers, a dial .for sett'ing said tumblers, meansfor moving said locking detent to a release position .upou setting of said tumblers by said dial, an .actuator mounted ,for rotation with said ,dial and for movement also radially of said dial, a key plug mounted in saiddialtor movement relatively thereto, means whereby said key plug moves said actuator radially at a predetermined rotated position of said dial, and means through which said actuator when so moved by said key plug moves Qsaid ,loeking detent to release position.

7 5. In alock ,of'the class described, a locking detent, a series of tumblers, adial-for setting said tumblers, means for moving said locking detent to a release position when said tumblers areset by said dial, a key plug in said dial, an actuator for said lockingdetent, means whereby said key plug moves said actuator relatively to said dial to move said locking detent to release position, a dial ring on the body of said dial, means securing said dial ring to rotate with said dial body, and means through which said key plug when moving Said locking detent also re leases said securing means to allow rotation of said dial ring relatively to said dial body.

.6. In a lock of the class described, a locking detent, a series of tumblers, a dial for setting said tumblers, means for moving said locking detent to a release position when said tumblers are set by said dial, a key plug in said dial, means whereby said key plug moves said locking detent to release position independently of said tumblers, a dial ring on the body of said dial, means for locking said dial ring relatively to the dial body, means through which said key plug when moving said locking detent also releases said dial ring for rotation relatively to said dial body, and means for resisting rotation of said dial ring relatively to said dial body when released by said key plug whereby to prevent an unintentional change in the combination of the lock.

7. In a lock of the class described, a locking detent, a series of combination tumblers, a dial for setting said tumblers to effect movement of said locking detent to a release position, a key plug in said dial, means actuated by movement of said key plug relatively to said dial to move said locking detent to release position, a dial ring mounted for rotation relatively to the body of said dial for changing the combination of the lock, a dog through which said key plug when moving relatively to said dial locks and releases said dial ring relatively to said dial body, and yielding means coactiug with said dog to resist rotation of said dial ring relatively to said dial body when said key plug releases said locking detent.

8. In a lock of the class described having a rotatable dial that is set according to the combination of the lock to release the lock, a dial ring mounted for rotation relatively to the body of said dial whereby to change the combination of the lock, a key plug on said dial, means whereby said lgey plug locks said dial ring relatively to said dial body to rotate with the dial body and releases said dial ring for rotation relatively to said body, and yielding means efiective when the dial ring is released from the key plug for holding said dial ring against rotation rela tively to said dial body whereby to prevent an unintentional change in the combination of said lock when said dial ring is released by said key plug.

9. In a lockof the. class described, a dial body, a dial ring mounted for rotation relatively to said dial body, a dog on said dial body, said dialring having recesses for the dog, a spring pressing said dog relatively to said recesses to hold said dialring in various rotated positions relatively to. said dial body, said dog yielding against the pressure of said spring when the dial ring rotates relatively to the body whereby to permit said dog to move rq are trees to when; a. ke 2 1 s. n sai di l. ody, and means whereby said key plug blocks yielding movement of said dog to lock said dial ring against rotation relatively to said dial body.

10. In a lock of the class described, a series of tumblers having gatings, a dial for moving said tumblers to align said gatings, a fence adapted to enter said gatings when they are aligned by said dial, a bolt released through entry of said fence into said gatings, means actuated incidental to bolt movement after release of said bolt to move said fence out of said gatings and to hold said fence out of said gatings, a key plug in the body of said dial, means whereby said key plug releases said bolt while said moving and holding means for said fence prevents release of said bolt by said fence, a dial ring on the body of said dial, means normally locking said dial ring against rotation relatively to the body of said dial, means whereby said key plug when releasing said bolt simultaneously releases said dial ring for rotation relatively to the body of said dial, and means through which said dial when rotated to place said gatings out of alignment releases said fence from said moving and holding means.

11. In a lock of the class described, a casing, a part slidably mounted for movement on said casing in either of two directions from a central locked position, a detent locking said part in locked position relatively to the casing, a pivot mounting said detent on the casing, a series of rotatable tumblers in said casing having gatings, a fence, means for moving the fence into the tumbler gatings when they are aligned with the fence, means whereby said fence when entering the gatings moves said detent on its pivot to release said part for sliding, a hold-out member mounted for free movement on said casing, a balancing spring holding said hold-out member yieldingly in either one of two extreme positions, means through which the said part when moving away from locked position moves the hold-out member to one extreme position to hold the fence out of the gatings, and means on one of said tumblers for moving the hold-out member to its other extreme position with said tumbler thereafter rotating freely relatively to said hold-out member.

12. In a lock of the class described, a casing, a part slidably mounted for movement on said casing in either of two directions from a central locked position, a detent pivotally movable on said casing, a series of tumblers in said casing having gatings, a fence for holding said detent in position locking said part in said locked position, means for moving the fence into the tumbler gatings when they are aligned with the fence, means whereby said fence when entering the gatings moves said detent on its pivot to release said part for sliding, a hold-out member mounted for free movement on said casing, a balancing spring holding said hold-out member yieldingly in either one of two extreme positions, means through which the said part when moving away from locked position moves the hold-out member to one extreme position to hold the fence out of the gatings, a spring through which said fence when held out of the gatings presses the detent whereby to lock the sliding part, and a pin on one of said tumblers for moving the hold-out member to its other extreme position thereafter to enable the fence to enter the gatings.

13. In a lock of the class described, a casing, a part mounted for movement on said casing to and from a locked position, a series of tumblers having gatings adapted to be aligned, a fence movable relatively to the aligned gatings to control the movement of said part away from locked position, a hold-out member mounted for movement on the casing, means through which said part when moving away from locked position actuates said hold-out member to move said fence away from the tumbler gatings, a spring then acting through said holdout member to press said fence independently of said past whereby to hold the fence away from the gatings in all positions of said part, and means for moving said holdout member to release the fence whereby to enable the fence to enter the gatings.

14. In a lock of the class described, a casing, a part mounted for movement on said casing to and from a locked position, a series of tumblers having gatings adapted to be aligned, a fence movable relatively to the aligned gatings to control the movement of said part away from locked position, a hold-out member for said fence, means through which said part when moving away from locked position actuates the hold-out member to move the fence away from the gatings, a balancing spring applying spring pressure to the fence through said holdout member whereby to hold the fence away from the gatings independently of said part as the said part moves toward locked position, means for moving said hold-out member to a release position, and said balancing spring then pressing the hold-out member to release position whereby to enable the fence to enter the gatings.

15. In a combination of the class described, a series of rotatable tumblers, a fence adapted to enter gatings in said tumblers,-fence moving means moving freely relatively to said tumblers for moving said fence out of said tumbler gatings and for thereafter holding said fence away from said tumblers against movement into said gatings, means holding said fence moving means in position to maintain said fence out of said gatings, and means whereby at least one of said tumblers when rotating to disalign its gating relatively to said fence effects the release of said fence from said fence moving means for movement toward said tumblers and into said gatings when said gatings are once again aligned.

16. In a combination of the class described, a series of rotatable tumblers, a fence adapted to enter gatings in said tumblers, fence moving means movable freely relatively to said tumblers for moving said fence out of said tumbler gatings and for thereafter holding said fence away from said tumblers against movement into said gatings, means independent of said tumblers holding said fence moving means in position to maintain said fence out of said gatings, and means whereby at least one of said tumblers when rotating to disalign its gating relatively to said fence effects the release of said fence from said fence moving means for movement toward said tumblers and into said gatings when said gatings are once again aligned.

17. In a combination of the class described, a series of rotatable tumblers, a fence adapted to enter gatings in said tumblers, free moving means movable freely relatively to said tumblers for moving said fence out of said tumbler gatings and for thereafter holding said fence away from said tumblers against movement into said gatings, a spring for holding said fence moving means in position to maintain said fence out of said gatings, and means whereby one of said tumblers when rotating to disalign its gating relatively to said fence effects movement of said fence moving means away from said position through yielding of said spring to allow the fence to move toward said tumblers and into said gatings when said gatings are once again aligned.

18. In a combination of the class described, a series of rotatable tumblers, a fence adapted to enter gatings in said tumblers, fence moving means for moving said fence out of said tumbler gatings and for thereafter holding said fence away from said tumblers against movement into said gatings, means independent of said tumblers holding said fence moving means in position to maintain said fence out of said gatings, and means on one of said tumblers moving against said fence moving means when the tumbler rotates to disalign its gating relatively to said fence whereby to release said fence from said fence moving means for movement toward said tumblers and into said gatings when said gatings are once again aligned.

19. In a combination of the class described, a series of rotatable tumblers, a fence adapted to enter gatings in said tumblers, fence moving means for moving said fence out of said tumbler gatings and for thereafter holding said fence away from said tumblers against movement into said gatings, a spring for holding said fence moving means in position to maintain said fence out of said gatin'gs, andmeans on one of said tumblers moving against said fence moving means when the tumbler ro V tates to disalign its gatin 'g relatively to said fence whereby to move the fence moving means through yielding of saidspring to a release position, and said fence moving means when in release position allowing 'the fence to move toward said tumblers and into said gatings when the gatings are once again aligned.

'20. In a combination of the class described, a series ofrotatable tumblers, a fence adapted to enter gatings in said tumblers, fence moving'means moving freely relatively to said tumblers for moving'said fence out of said tumbler gatings and for thereafter holding said fence away from said tumblers against movement into said gatings, a spring for holding thefence moving means in position to maintain the fence out of said gatings, means on one of said tumblers moving against said fence moving means when the tumbler rotates to disalign its gating H2 relatively to said fence whereby ;to move the fence moving means through yielding of said spring to a released position, and said spring then acting to hold the fence moving means in release position whereby to allow the fence to move toward said tumblers and'into'said gating when said ,ga'tings are once again aligned. I

References-Cited in the the of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 94,274 Beadle et-al Aug. 31, 1869 1,942,838 Taylor Oct. 29, 1912 1,498,164 Gonzalez June '17, 1924 r 1,909,393 Diesel May 16, 1933 2,127,089 .Schampet a1. Aug. 16, 1938 2,133,528 "Bell Oct. 18, 1938 2,487,698 Soref et al. 'Nov. 8, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 619,494 Germany Oct. 2, I935 

